Tag Archives: positive

On May 31st, I celebrated being four full-time years in business with my team, but decided to write a bit of the story on our Facebook page. Here it is!

May 31st, 2013 at around 10:35 AM I decided to take my part-time business in multimedia started somewhere around April 9th, 2009 full-time. I had been pursuing odds and ends jobs throughout my undergraduate, exploring my options after graduating from college, and after some major downs, took the leap with the encouragement of only my parents and Ann.

Through thick, thin, and everything in between, I have kept it going profitably for 4 years. While drumming brings me joy and teaching college is a level of giving back I never thought I would experience in my life (leading me through grad school), running this thing I started with a simple email from a potential client (Stacy Hamilton, actually!) while taking a break at the gym all those years ago in 2009 has taken me more places, brought me into the lives of more incredible people, and allowed for things in my life to happen faster than I ever anticipated, even being a proverbial “millennial who hasn’t had to work for anything.” Trust me when I say, I’ve never worked harder.

I’ve shared the story of taking it full-time, but I’ve never really shared the story of why I ever wanted to start a business to begin with. It’s pretty short. That fateful spring of 2009 where I started, I was in the middle of transferring to Carroll because UW-Whitewater had written me a letter, suggesting I do anything else with my life because they felt I wasn’t cut out for multimedia. Just as I have done with everything since I was a kid, I merely thought to myself “I’ll show them.”

Well, 4 full-time years, 9 years total, I’ve gotten to do a lot. Whether it was producing an evidence video that helped save someone innocent for a law firm, calling Aaron Rodgers “Mr. Rodgers” by accident on a commercial shoot, designing graphics for the majority of Milwaukee’s music and nightlife scene, or watching about 50+ couples say “I do” from the edit screen of Adobe Premiere, I’m glad I did exactly what my parents dreaded when I was younger. Ignore a professional’s advice.

And now, I’m slowly but surely growing a team of freelancers to help with the work I’ve got, giving back as much as I can to budding entrepreneurs, and even diversifying (hopefully) into other industries, because let’s be real, I like a lot of stuff.

If I’ve learned anything so far from business, it’s that life is a playground. Don’t ever settle in anything, even outside of your career. Don’t ever let anyone fit you into a standard they believe you belong in, because the only person that knows you best is you. Don’t categorize yourself, because we can all be great at anything we try. And most importantly, take a chance. If you fail, it’s only practice. Success isn’t this “end product,” success is trying and continuing on.
It’s awfully nice out, maybe I’ll take some time off today. Thanks for reading, and thanks for being in my life.

Now that I’ve transitioned a lot of my team and my work to our Facebook page, this is officially a blog for everyone to enjoy, covering everything from entrepreneurship to simply words of encouragement for those who need it.

I want to make a difference; I want to change the world. I want to do everything I can to make this world a better place and to impact the lives of every single person I meet. I implore you (whether you’re a student of mine, a client of mine, or just someone who reads my business blog), smile at someone you don’t know. You’ll be amazed at how wonderful you’ve made them feel and the life you’ve even potentially saved by doing so.

Everyone has a plan, from birth to death, and I can just feel my plan is to leave an ever lasting impression on mankind that resonates throughout generations to come.

I would say that this is probably the prime time this week to post something nonbusiness related and completely from the heart.

I’m having an awful week both socially and mentally, which is taxing as a small business owner because I then take everything personally. In two days, I’ve had rugs pulled out from under me, harsh feedback I wasn’t prepared to hear and devastating losses outside of my professional life. It’s been a rough week. Honestly, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel like giving up throughout this very moment.

But I thought of the alternative. I considered the facts. I never play by the rules. I never follow the beaten path. For three years now, I’ve taken every single moment of “you can’t” and saturated it with a “just watch me” response. What would my life be like had I not pursued this manically positive attitude I always seem to possess?

I can’t quit. I can’t give up. If I give up, then why did I ever start to begin with? Why did I ever bother trying? When I step back from myself and take a look at the bigger picture, I realize that it’s up to me to succeed. Not for the sake of other’s perception of me, but for me.

I’m not in the multimedia industry to just do anything. Honestly, the word “just” sounds awful in itself.

I produce videos to create an emotional experience that you become part of while you view. Visual storytelling is so much more than a well-produced film or music video. It should be an unforgettable experience for all involved.

HomeWire Productions, the real estate production company that I’m part owner on, is piloting a brand new technology this summer that is sure to push visual storytelling to a whole new level. We want to make it an interactive experience, one that generations to come will remember as what changed their world.

Aside from that, check out Happy Girl Speaks, a blog by Ang Irwin who I just produced videos for.

I don’t believe that the world wants to be sold to. I believe the world wants to be part of something bigger than themselves. Today, everything is so accessible, it makes me wonder what people can’t do? How do you reach people when they’re over-saturated with media already?

You entertain them; you give them a reason to want to be part of whatever it is you’re offering the world, be it a restaurant, a go kart track or a music store. You make them want to be part of your business, not just give you money for goods and services.